Hey, friends! If you recall, Mark and I brought a little one into our family a couple of months ago.

And by “little one”, I mean a tiny little calico kitten named Maya.

At times, it feels like we’re living with two completely different cats. Sometimes we’ll have calm, sweet Maya, who stretches out against our leg, turns on her back, and lets us scratch her stomach as she gently falls asleep. (This is happening as I’m writing this, and I’m dying)

And other times, we’ll have welts on our hands, bites on our feet, and a cat in “time-out.”

She can be the sweetest little thing ever, but she deeeeeefinitely has a sassy side. For example:

We have one of those paper lamps from IKEA in our living room, and it has been thoroughly clawed by our furry friend. It’s now a very sad excuse for a lamp, as it now resembles swiss cheese.

She has THE mouthiest meow when she’s hungry, too. She’ll completely let.you.have it if she hasn’t been fed in the last hour and you walk by her food bowl. And if her persistent meowing doesn’t work, it’s a bite on the foot for you.

She also likes to be RIGHT in the action when I’m cooking. Unfortunately, she has gotten into the habit of jumping up on the countertops in our kitchen, so when it comes time to chop, stir, or mix, she’s there. In her nosy-cat fashion. In fact, Maya managed to tip over an entire bag of Jasmine rice onto the floor Monday night because she just felt like sticking her head in the bag.

This cat. I’m telling you. ?

But. Then there are moments like this. Where she just wants to be in the same room as I am. Even if my attention is on something else completely, like shooting this recipe, she just wants to hang with her mama:

This cat. I’m telling you. ?

So even though she can be a complete and total basketcase, we’re still completely, head-over-heels obsessed with her…much like we are for this Lemon Chia Seed Granola.

(oooh…like what I did there?)

For real though. And I’m not even a huge granola fan. I mean, I totally am – I love the textures, I love the taste, but I can get carried away reeeeal quick. Like, a whole…”one bowl turns into two turns into 10” kind of thing. So I try and stay away from it. But I really can’t with this stuff. Because this granola recipe is probably in my top 5 favorite Fooduzzi recipes of all-time. For real, friends!

While it’s baking, it makes your entire house/apartment/what have you smell like a freakin’ bakery. A bakery that is baking #allthelemonthings. <– do those exist?! Please tell me those exist.

In addition to the lemon (zest, not juice), we’ll also be adding some olive oil and honey, which are suuuch a natural and delicious threesome. Add a little vanilla to the mix, and we’re well on our way to Happy Town. I swear, you’ll want to drink the wet ingredients before they even make it to the dry. You owe it to yourself to try an almond dipped in the stuff. HELLO, perfection!

We’ll also need some oats! Because there are so little ingredients in this recipe (8!!), the quality of them really matter! That’s why I alwaysalwaysalways use Bob’s Red Mill’s brand. I always have it for breakfast, I always use it in all of my oat-centric recipes here on the blog, and I always use it in my Lemon Chia Seed Granola.

As for the chia seeds, it would be awesome if you could use black chia instead of the white like I did so you have that whole play on the lemon-poppy-seed thing going on. I felt less than no desire to run to the store and pick up a package of black chia when I had white chia that would work just fine. BUT use what you have/what you can find – white, black, purple, pink, green – it all works beautifully!

As for serving suggestions, I love munching on it cereal-style with some cold almond milk, throwing it on top of smoothie bowls (stay tuned), or eating it by the handful! Actually, let’s be serious, I suggest any vessel that takes it from jar-to-mouth as quickly as possible. Seriously, guys! You don’t want to miss out on this stuff!

PS. Thank you so very much for all of your encouragement and support in my last post. I love the Fooduzzi fam! ?

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Combine oats, almonds, and chia seeds in a large bowl. Mix to combine.

In a small bowl or jar, combine olive oil, honey, lemon zest, vanilla and salt. Mix well to combine.

Pour wet ingredients over the oat mixture, and mix until well combined.

Pour granola onto the prepared baking sheet and pat down to create one even layer.

Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and turn the pan around and bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until the granola is golden and fragrant.**

Let cool completely before munching. Store in a jar or container at room temp!

Notes

*If you use the zest of only 1 lemon, the granola will have a light lemony taste. If you want the lemon flavor a little more pronounced, use the zest of 2.
**To keep this granola as chunky as possible, don’t mix it at all during baking or after it comes out of the oven.

Awesome!! You’re going to LOVE it! Definitely check out their oats, too. There’s something about them that makes them so much better than the other oats I’ve tried! And “zesty” is the perfect word to describe this granola :)

Just saw this on the BGB FB group. (I’m Allie Amanda on FB.) This looks AMAZING. My inability to reach out for a handful of granola through the screen is really bothering me right now. ;-) Haha! I look forward to giving this recipe a try.

Omg… I am a giant lemon fan especially when it comes to mixing it with sweet flavors. So this is right down my alley. And I love adding chia seeds to granola, it adds this sort of crunch that you otherwise would miss!

Ahh thank you for only feeding my granola obsession! Lemon has always been one of my all time favorite flavors. My mom would bring me back lemon squares, cupcakes, and cakes from everywhere she traveled and it’s always the main ingredient in my birthday desserts! This gives me a healthier way to enjoy it daily :)

This looks so fresh and bright and citrusy!! Those clumps ahhhh. Your cat is adorable – I love all your Snapchats of her! I’m getting a cat when I move into a new place next year (!!!). Growing up we always had at least 3-4 pets at a time, so not having any furry companion is lonely. Can’t wait for my own little snuggler!

Ooof that definitely sounds challenging with your kitty! I was so glad we adopted a 5 year old cat so we didnt have to deal with all that sassy nonsense. Although he will meow his face on when wanting something to eat!
Totally all worth it in the end tho :)

Maya is too cute!! I’m such a cat person that my fiance and mother bought me a stuffed Pusheen (if you don’t know what Pusheen is, look it up!) and a Pusheen tank top for Christmas. And I just died! Love love love all cats. :)

Hi Alexa, so happy to have found you and your wonderful recipes. Super congratulations on your new beautiful baby I have a foster kitten with the same personality, sweet and cuddly one minute and a zaniac the next; but we can’t help loving them, can we? Can’t wait to try this granola; I’ve been looking for one that grabbed my attention – Hellooo, you had me at lemon. Thanks so much Alexa, and kissed and hugs for the little one.
Vivian

Your comment made my night, Vivian! Thank you so much – I’m happy we found each other :) You’re exactly right – no matter how crazy my little Maya may be, she’s still one of the best decisions I ever made :)
I hope you get the chance to try this granola – it’s one of my favorite recipes on the blog! :) Maya says hello!

Just came across this recipe and I am SUPER excited to give it a try. Thanks so much for sharing your wit and creative ways with gluten-free/vegan cooking! One suggestion – learned from a baker friend of mine – if you bake your granola in a sheet pan sandwich of sheet pan, parchment, granola, parchment, sheet pan – you end up with lovely golden granola because it actually bakes from the top and bottom! Genius!!

Hi! I love this combo for granola– nice and fragrant, love the olive oil and lemon, and this is my second time making it– however, I would warn others against the tip to bake directly on the baking pan. For me, it was a disaster and it completely stuck to the pan, and I had to spend like 15 minutes with some elbow grease and a metal spatula to even get the granola off of the pan. I also think it’s a bit too sweet and I may reduce the honey and maybe increase the oil next time. Other than that, thank you for this recipe!

Love, love this muesli, I make my it all the time now – with a couple of additions, I use the juice of one of the lemons, I melt the oil and honey with the lemon juice and it combines in the dry mix great. I use a lemon zester that make shreds rather than fine grates as I love the hits of lemon when you eat it.

I made this a month ago and it is so much better than the store brand. It was fun and I have so much since I usually only use for my yogurt to give it a crunch. I would like to know if you have the nutritional info. on this . I know how to just….lazy since I have to log everything else in for my Diabetes. Thanks for your website…I just love your recipes.
Happy Spring!
Laurie

Trackbacks

[…] My desired toppings were almonds, chia seeds, blueberries, and my favoritefavoritefavorite Lemon Chia Seed Granola, but feel free to mix it up based on what you have handy. I know that I’ll be topping my […]

[…] media superstar who also runs a rockin’ blog of her own where she shares recipes like this Lemon Chia Seed Granola that I want on my yogurt, this Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Hummus Pasta and these Banana Almond […]